BEIJING - China said on Sunday the tour of Taiwan by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was driven by separatist political motives he shares with Taipei.
"The Dalai's second Taiwan trip will certainly be a political visit for collaborating with Taiwan independence forces to separate the motherland," state-run Xinhua news agency said.
A Xinhua commentary said the Dalai Lama, who arrived in Taiwan on Saturday for a 10-day visit, would meet members of the nearly one-year-old Democratic Progressive Party government which has antagonised China with pro-independence rhetoric.
"With such a political backdrop, how could Dalai's trip be a pure 'religious tour'?" Xinhua said.
The agency report apparently ignored remarks in Taipei by the Tibetan monk, who urged China to "watch my movement here and investigate whether I (am) involved (in) some kind of anti-Chinese activities."
The Dalai Lama's March 31 to April 9 visit has inflamed political and religious passions on the island of 23 million.
He was greeted by competing protests on arrival at Taiwan's airport, with a tiny group of activists for reunification with China shouting anti-Dalai Lama slogans and pro-independence groups countering with the chant: "Free Tibet. Free Taiwan."
The globetrotting Buddhist monk said he is not seeking Tibet's independence from China, which has ruled his Himalayan homeland with an iron fist since 1950.
He told a news conference in Taipei that Taiwan should maintain a close relationship with its giant communist rival.
Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since routing Nationalist troops in a civil war on the mainland in 1949. China has threatened to attack Taiwan if it declared independence or dragged its feet on unification talks.
The Dalai Lama fled his Himalayan homeland after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and won the Nobel Peace Prize three decades later for his peaceful campaign for autonomy.
22:56 03-31-01
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